Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Syria‘s foreign minister in the first high-level talks between the countries in years, officials said Thursday. The meeting came as the chief American military spokesman in Iraq said Syria had moved to reduce "the flow of foreign fighters" across its border.
Rice‘s meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was the first such high-level talks since the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
According to press reports, Iraqi government officials pressed for Rice and her Iranian counterpart to meet during an international gathering on Iraq in Egypt, saying Washington‘s conflict with the government in Tehran is only fueling Iraq‘s instability. On her part, Rice has said she was willing to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
During Thursday‘s session, the two sat on far ends of the large conference hall. They both attended a lunch along with the other foreign ministers. "All of us here today are bound to the future of Iraq. What happens in Iraq has profound consequences which will affect each and every one of us," Rice said in a speech to the conference.
In his speech, Mottaki blamed Iraq‘s turmoil on "the flawed policies of the occupying powers" — referring to the U.S.
In Baghdad, U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Syria had tightened its borders to and reduced the number of foreign fighters crossing into Iraq, the AP reported.
Iraq has offered to mediate between Iran and the U.S., an aide to al-Maliki told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
